Nicholas Christowitz

A 27 year old graphic designer residing in Johannesburg. Co-owner of Father Coffee and co-owner of The Bread, a creative brand consultancy. I’m currently juggling a freelance design career, growing the Father Coffee brand, running The Bread, and travelling to Berlin a lot to see my girlfriend. Also… I just started an instagram account for my cat (BohTheCat). Not sure how I feel about that yet.

What is your best childhood memory?

Fishing during the December holidays.

If you had a chance for a “do-over” in life, what would you do differently?

Not much. I don’t think I’d like anything to be different. I guess maybe I wish I’d never picked up smoking. I’ve quit for a year now but I could start again tomorrow haha!

What do you feel most proud of?

Father Coffee. I love what we’ve done with this place. We’ve just opened our second store now and to be able to call ourselves one of the best coffee brands in the country is such a good feeling. The brand has allowed me to connect to dozens of people around the world when I travel, purely because of shared interests in the industry.

If you could only keep three possessions, what would they be and why?

My iPhone, my cat, and a pair of Air Force 1’s

What do you want your tombstone to say?

“Drowned in a pile of money and kittens”

What is Father Coffee?

First and foremost we’re a coffee roastery and espresso bar. We’re hoping to improve the state of the coffee industry in South Africa by helping grow an informed and excited consumer. We put a huge amount of effort and consideration into everything we do, from sourcing, to roasting, to brewing and to our communications with our customers. Father Coffee is also an incredible place to hang out, whether you’re in Braamfontein or Rosebank.

What’s your favorite kind of coffee, brew method or coffee origin?

I drink several double espressos a day made with our Heirloom blend on either our Mirage or our Strada machines, depending on which one of our stores I’m in. I’m a massive fan of a V60 made with our Konga Natural from the Yirgacheffe region in Ethiopia. We’ve had many single origin beans come and go but the bright fruitiness of the Konga has been blowing my mind for the last 2 years.